God-Ordained Conversations

This Road Trip has reminded me of the importance of always being aware and available for "random" conversations with strangers. Our family is "different"; and, as such, we attract attention. While Sarah and Rachel get tired of "being stared at", I have to remind them that our family was regularly stared at for many years before they arrived. The stares started 20 years ago, when we had 5 little ones under 5 years old.

Now ... it is exciting to see who the Lord brings across our paths. It is important to me to take the time to converse with someone who seems interested in what makes our family tick. I will never know exactly how the Lord will use our conversations in these people's lives; but I am able to walk away knowing that I am being used.

Because our family is "different",

the stares bring with them ...

... an opportunity to interact with people

who would just walk on by if our family

was "normal".

... an opportunity to shine Jesus' light

to the world.

... an opportunity to show that "different"

can mean "BLESSED".

... an opportunity to show that a "Mama of Many"

does not haveto be stressed out and haggard looking.

... an opportunity to show the world that children

are a BLESSING.

... an opportunity to show the world that large groups

of children can be trained in good behavior; that "large

family" does not necessarily equal "out of control".

In the past week we have had the opportunity to have 4 meaningful conversations with strangers ... just because we took the time to respond to comments, to answer questions, and to shine the light of Jesus into a dark and troubled world.

Colorado Springs * Wendy's Restaurant

I had a very interesting conversation with a 50-something woman who was eating lunch alone, close to where Shonni and I were eating lunch with our 15 children. When I got up to take pictures of our colorful group of children, the woman commented, "Are you a day care?" I could have easily said, "No." and gone about my business. Yet, I saw this as an opportunity. I probably spent 15 minutes chatting with this woman about our large family, about adoption, about homeschooling. She was intrigued. She asked a lot of questions. She shared about parenting her special needs adopted daughter. She said, "Well, she hates me right now ... as all 15 year olds do." Oh so sad! Here I sat having lunch with my 13 & 16 year old children who I have wonderful relationships with. I finally had to say my "good-byes", as Shonni had all of the children cleaned up and ready to head out on our adventure. I probably could have chatted for another hour with this sweet (but needy) woman. I'm glad that the Lord gave me the opportunity to shine a little of His light into her life.

Caddo Mills, TX * Church

When we went to church with the Block family, Carissa and I had the opportunity to have a nice chat with the Pastor's Wife, before service. Carissa shared all about her missions work in Argentina. I shared about our large family, adoption, and homeschooling. We ended up exchanging information. She left excited to read our family blog and my A Journey of Faith ministry website. Again, I could have shook her hand, introduced myself, and gone right back to my conversation with Amy. Yet, the Lord stopped me and showed me that I needed to take a few minutes with this precious sister in the Lord.

Dallas, TX * Wal-Mart Parking Lot

While walking through the parking lot to go shopping, a 50-ish woman noticed Sarah & Rachel's hair (yarn braids). She came up to tell them how beautiful it was. She said that she is a school teacher and that she always likes to see the different kinds of hairstyles the girls have. (This was in a very racially mixed neighborhood.) She went on to ask where the girls were adopted from, and then told us that when her teenagers are grown and gone that she plans to move to Africa to teach. So, she asked about Ghana. When we told her we were on a Road Trip, she asked about homeschooling. Then, she turned to the girls and told them, "Do you realize what a special Mama you have? Not many Mama's would take there children on a Road Trip across the country." So sweet! After about 10 minutes we finally had to say, "Good-bye". As she left, she told us that she was excited to tell her school children all about our family, and our meeting in Wal-Mart.

San Antonio, TX * Mexican Restaurant

Yesterday, I took the children to a Mexican Restaurant for lunch, after our visit to The Alamo. While I was finishing up with the little ones, and paying the bill, Carissa and Ben headed outside. When I came out, I discovered that Carissa had been having quite the conversation with a young man who works in the restaurant kitchen. When I arrived, he continued the conversation, telling me all about his move to Texas from Hawaii (as a teenager). He was excited about the Road Trip that we were one. As we parted, he said, "God Bless." Then, Carissa told me that this young man's dad is a pastor, and that she and he had been talking about the Lord.

Thank you Lord, for each of these people. I pray that You will guide me and help me to continue to take the opportunities that you lay before me, to respond to the people who You direct to cross my path each day.

More Pics from Last Weekend

Linda (Smith Soup) posted a few more pics of our time together, with the Riggs family. Hope you'll pop on over to THIS POST to check them out.

Food, Fun, & Fellowship with the Block Family

On Sunday, we went to church with the Block Family. The church we visited was held in a Park this week, under a BIG tent. There were about 125+ people worshipping together.

After worship, we played at the park, and had Little Caesar's Pizza for lunch. Yummm ...

The D Kids & The B Kids

A Missionary & a Future Missionary

A Most Adorable Young Man

The Lord BLESSED us with a FUN day of FELLOWSHIP with the Blocks. Thank you LORD for bringing healing to Amy before we hit the road again.

Amy wrote about our time together ... HERE.

Travellin' Again

For those of you tracking our adventures ...

We are in San Antonio tonight, camping in Rain, Thunder, & Lightening. We did, however, get a good swim in before the WEATHER hit. Oh boy is it HUMID tonight ... and we have to have the windows closed most of the way because of the rain. It's HOT in Texas tonight!

Don't miss all the pictures BELOW ...

that I added tonight, too.

LOTS of Pictures: Water Park, Snow, Tire Explosion, Camping

We have great internet reception tonight ... so I was finally able to upload LOTS of pictures. Yea! I grabbed some off of Ben's computer, too ... as he is QUITE the photographer. Thanks Ben!

The Hotel Water Park

Sarah's First Water Park Fun

Antelope in Wyoming

2 Bloggy Moms ...

doing what they LOVE to do.

Shonni & Me

All the younger kids had fun

squeezing through this

narrow passage way at

Garden of the Gods

Wall Jumping

Does this look like a

Field Trip?

We visited a Rose Garden,

a few hours before it snowed.

SNOW ...

on September 24th

My Right Hand Man ...

Ben

The Tire Explosion

Camping Fun

in Caddo Mills, TX

Fun in the Sun!

We had a totally RELAXING day

here at the KOA in Caddo Mills, TX.

We spent 6 hours in/by the pool.

Ahhh ...

A Beautiful Pool

We played basketball.

We swam.

We sat in the sun.

We slid down the handrail.

We played on the Splash Pad.

We played in the bucket.

We closed the holes of the Splash Pad,

so that water would shoot higher out of the open holes.

We worked on our sun tans.

And ... tonight ... I got to meet sweet (although sick) Amy.

Her daughter was attending a

birthday party here at the KOA.

Amy got out of her sickbed,

and came to pick her up tonight,

just so that we could meet. Yea!

We kept our distance.

She didn't cough on me.

We get to go to church with the Block Family tomorrow.

Then, tomorrow night, dinner with a friend from Argentina.

After our CRAZY WEEK,

we were sure ready for some

Fun in the Sun!

and ... more to come ...

Fun Pics from Oklahoma

We had a LOT of fun with the Smith Family

and the Riggs Family on Friday night.

The trampoline was always full of kids.

Late night snacks and a movie.

Abby Riggs

Hannah Riggs

Elijah played soccer with the big Smith boys.

Josiah joined the fun, too.

Josiah & Elijah helped milk the goats,

while Rachel & Sarah fed the baby goats with bottles.

Linda wrote about our visit on THIS blog post. I hope you'll pop on over and "meet" her wonderful family.

We're in Texas

We had a GREAT DAY today!

After a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs and Southern grits, with the "Smith Soup" family, we got on the road about 11:00. Picked up the trailer at the repair shop at noon, and headed over to Wal-Mart to get everything on our 6 day old "Wal-Mart List".

By 2:30 we were ready to head out of Oklahoma City, and south to Texas. Yea! One little error ... rush hour traffic in the Dallas area on a Friday night. Oops! But, we found our K.O.A. Campground at 6:30 ... got the tent set-up with no problems (whew!) ... fixed soft tacos for dinner (yummm!) ... and went SWIMMING at 8:30 (fun!!!) ... jammies and read-aloud at 9:30 ... and now the trailer is QUIET (except for Carissa, chatting in Spanish, on Skype, with a friend in Argentina).

While we are so sad that Amy and family are sick in bed ... we are looking forward to a week of camping (with a few day trips to visit Bloggy Friends). We'll be camping here in the Dallas area for a couple of days, and then down to San Antonio for a couple of days. We are sooo... THANKFUL that our trailer is up and running, and that we are able to continue on with our camping, as planned. The repair shop did a fantastic job of putting things back together.

This K.O.A. is so beautiful (and inexpensive) that we want to stretch our time here a bit. There is a small lake by our campsite (with a path around it for walking). And, there is a great swimming pool (with volleyball and basketball in the pool), a nice playground, a basketball court, and a game room (with pool table and ping-pong). So, we are looking forward to a few RELAXING days here.

The internet is pretty weak tonight, so I'll wait 'til tomorrow to try to upload pics.

Under Attack?

I am NOT one to always blame Satan when bad things happen to good people. However, sometimes I just have to wonder what's going on.

I absolutely believe that The Enemy is working hard to keep Bloggy Friends apart. Seriously, he does not want like-minded Believers fellowshipping with one another.

On Saturday, we were supposed to stay with a Bloggy Friend in Idaho ... her family came down with the Swine Flu.

Yesterday, of course, was just a "random happening" when our trailer tire exploded. Right?

Today, we were supposed to meet another Bloggy Friend and Family ... and one of her kids woke up with an eye infection.

Tomorrow & Saturday, we were supposed to stay with a Bloggy Friend and family in the Dallas area ... and her family has come down with Pneumonia.

Now ... all Bloggy Friends that are expecting us in the next 3 weeks are probably going to cancel, just as a precaution.

And, it's not just me and my Bloggy Friends.

Have any of you read Linny's blog this week. They have had serious vehicle issues, and finally had to ditch their RV and rent an SUV for the remainder of the trip. (After finally getting our trailer to a repair shop today, I too considered the question of, "At what point do you just ditch it?")

Now, of course, neither Linny nor I are ones to be deterred by car/trailer troubles. We both have pushed on this week, and we ARE enjoying visits with Bloggy Friends. Linny and Family stayed with a Bloggy Friend last night, and another Bloggy Friend came to visit her there. My children and I are staying with a Bloggy Friend tonight, and another Bloggy Friend and children came to visit us here. So, we are NOT allowing the attacks to keep us from His purposes for our lives. But ... it is rather frustrating.

Please keep our family and Linny's family in your prayers. Pray that we would continue to be healthy, and that the families we are to visit would be healthy as well. Pray for our vans and trailers, that they would run smoothly on down the road. Thanks!

I'll post pics and details tomorrow, of our night tonight with Linda (Smith Soup) and family, and Michelle (Riggs Family blog) and kids ... in Oklahoma.

Being THANKFUL ... despite the TROUBLES

Today ...

... we were SUPPOSED to drive

South from Colorado Springs to Amarillo, TX.

... we were SUPPOSED to be

camping at a K.O.A. tonight.

... we were SUPPOSED to have

a short, easy drive.

Today ...

... None of the Above happened

... we drove East to Kansas,

because of the heavy snows in Colorado

... we had to eat at a restaurant and find a hotel

(details coming ... keep reading)

... we had a long and exhausting day,

finally pulling into a restaurant at 8:00 pm

(after having bagels and cream cheese for lunch at noon)

Today ...

I am THANKFUL ...

... that IT happened on the plains of Kansas,

rather than the mountain passes of Colorado.

... that IT happened after the many hours of

snow and rain that we'd had today.

... that the Lord protected us.

... that we have AAA roadside service.

... that we have cell phones to call AAA.

... that the tow truck men were able to make

a duct tape repair, rather than towing us

120 miles to Salina, KS.

... that I have a WONDERFUL 16 year old son,

who has the BIGGEST servant's heart,

who stepped up as the "man in the family".

... that we have $$$ in the bank to cover

unexpected restaurants and hotels

(not to mention REPAIRS ... yikes!)

... that my children sat quietly in the van,

on the side of the road, without complaining.

Yes ... truly ... I am thankful tonight ... despite some

UNEXPECTED TROUBLES.

We were cruising nicely down the highway, looking forward to an early arrival at the K.O.A., when ... all of a sudden ... something didn't feel quite right. I looked in my rearview mirror to see chunks of rubber flying in all directions.

After calmly pulling over to the side of the road, Ben and I jumped out to survey the damage. Basically, one of our trailer tires had EXPLODED. Before either of us even got on the ground, I saw electrical wires hanging every which way. Ummm ... I don't think those are supposed to be in the wheel well. When Ben got down on the ground and looked up, he said, "It looks like a bomb went off." When I got down on the ground and looked to the side, I saw my laundry detergent sitting on the shelf under the sink. Ummm ... I don't think I should be able to see that shelf from the wheel well.

Seriously, when the tired exploded, it tore apart the underside of the trailer. It ripped off the wooden end of the shelf. It bent thick pieces of metal framework. It folded up thick plastic. And, it ripped apart the electrical box for the trailer. Wires were cut in half, hanging there.

Ben got out the tire jack; while I put in a call to Papa. Ben ran up the side of the interstate quite a ways to find out what mile marker we were near (in order to direct the tow truck driver). Ben removed the wheel rim; while I put in a call to AAA. Ben put on the spare tire; while I tried to find an RV repair shop within 100 miles.

The tow truck driver and a friend arrived ... without a tow truck. They checked the spare that Ben had put on. They used a pry bar to bend some of the metal back, so that it didn't rub the new tire. They got out their trusty roll of duct tape, and taped up the wires to the underside of the trailer. And ... they sent us on our way.

100 miles later, we drove by the RV repair place in Salina, but it was in a pretty sketchy neighborhood. We didn't feel safe just parking the trailer there and leaving it until morning. We decided that since we were able to tow the trailer, that we might as well continue towing it tomorrow ... to the closest Camping World in Oklahoma City. We're headed that way anyways.

At 8:00 pm, we finally found a Chili's Restaurant to fill our bellies, and at 9:30, a Quality Inn with comfy beds for our tired bodies. Ahhhh ......

Pictures coming tomorrow ...

too tired tonight ...

I just realized that I didn't even tell y'all about Sunday night ... our first (and only) night of camping so far. Yes, this is our 5th night on the road and we have only camped 1 night. Ugh!

Anyway, we pulled into the K.O.A. in Wyoming on Sunday night. It was windy and cold, and we were ready to get dinner on. But ... the trailer wouldn't open. Well, I guess it would open technically, but it wouldn't stay open. The gears wouldn't latch/lock to keep the top up. We basically stood around and stared at the trailer for quite some time ... as we put in calls to Papa and to our dear Uncle Larry (who happens to be a regional manager for Camping World). Neither Papa nor Larry were available. So ... we stood there.

Up limped an older man who asked if we needed help. After telling him our story, he went back to his campsite, put on his coveralls, picked up his tool bag, and came back to crawl under our trailer. A few minutes later, it was fixed. Whew! Thanks Lord! We paid him with homemade cookies.

Praying that we can get the trailer fixed up and ready for some CAMPING FUN in Texas!

Please pray for us, that we would know where to get it fixed and that the "fix" wouldn't be extremely expensive (we don't have MUCH extra money in the bank).

11 + 8 + 6 = 25 People Here Tonight

You may be thinking that Shonni's house is a bit crowded after adding 8 of the Big D family to their 11. No ... not crowded a bit. Tonight, another out-of-town family will be arriving with their 4 children. So, we will have 25 people sleeping here tonight.

Can't wait to put together breakfast for the whole CROWD! What fun!!!

Shonni and family not only have a big house ... but BIG HEARTS! We have been BLESSED by our time with them, and are so thankful for the amazing Bloggy Friends that the Lord has brought in to my life in the past 2 years. We can't wait to meet more of you in the coming weeks.

What to do with 15 children in the WINTER in Colorado?

Because of the Non-Fall weather, Shonni had to revise our plans just a bit. But, we still took the kids out and about, and had a GREAT time.

Rather than a picnic in the mountains,

we visited Wendy's instead.

Can you imagine how we must

have scared the other customers,

when we walked in the door with 15 children?

Elijah ... always the clown.

After lunch we visited the

Garden of the Gods.

Wow! Beautiful!!!

Shonni and I, combined, have 16 children,

that are 16 years old and younger.

(Which includes 12 that are 11 and under.)

Always a pic of our 2 sets of Virtual Twins.

Elijah, Rachel, Josiah, and Sarah

Notice the coats ...

we had to borrow them because

we did not come prepared for Winter Weather.

The Castle

Part of the Navigators Ministry headquarters.

Another pic of some of our beautiful children.

It's such a blessing to be able to introduce our children

to other families that "look like us".

Not only is Shonni's family BIG,

but they are COLORFUL too.

Explaining Make-Believe to Our Children

Another question for those of you that have adopted internationally ...

Do your older children have a difficult time discerning fiction vs. non-fiction? This has been a really difficult thing for our kids.

Rachel, reading Charlotte's Web, "Mom, is this story real?"

Mama, "Well ... what do you think."

Rachel, "I do not know."

Mama, "Okay ... what is it about?"

Rachel, "A pig."

Mama, "What does the pig do?"

Rachel, "I do not know."

Mama, "Does the pig talk?"

Rachel, "Yes."

Mama, "Do pigs really talk?"

Rachel, "No."

Mama, "Than, is the story real."

Rachel, "No."

Sooo ...

Do any of your families listen to Adventures in Odyssey stories on CD (or the old tapes)? We have listened to them for over 20 years. Our whole family LOVES the stories.

However, our precious Ghanaian children have had a very difficult time telling what is make-believe about the stories. Of course, the whole story is make-believe. However, even if the main characters were real ... they take trips in a time-machine that is completely make-believe. Our kids had listened to the stories for months before we realized that they just thought everything they heard was real life. So, if the people in the stories could travel back in time and visit with Bible-time people, than they thought that the Bible people just live in another part of the world. They truly don't understand the concept of history, which led to the question a few months ago, "Papa, are we living in Old Testament times or New Testament times?" Yikes! So, we realized that the Adventures in Odyssey stories might be adding to the confusion.

Which leads to today's predicament ...

We are in Colorado Springs, where Focus on the Family is based. The Focus on the Family main office has an awesome Adventures in Odyssey building where you can even buy ice cream in "Whit's End".

We've visited before, and our children loved it. Now, those children are asking if we can go again, on this trip.

However ... we have spent so much time trying to explain to the girls that Adventures in Odyssey is make-believe ... how do we possibly explain that we are going to visit Whit's End???

Yikes! It's WINTER in Colorado!

I'm EXHAUSTED tonight,

but wanted to write a QUICK note.

The day before we left home (Friday), it was a beautiful SUMMER day. We were all wearing shorts and t-shirts (or tank tops).

Saturday, we had rain all the way across WA and ID, and strong winds in MT.

Sunday, we had rain on and off, more strong winds, and COLD weather at our campground in WY. Brrr ... We piled on LOTS of blankets last night.

Today, we woke up and the kids asked if it was winter already in WY. I assured them that, "No, it's just the beginning of fall." However, about 100 miles down the highway, we came around a corner and saw SNOW. What??!!! Awhile later we came across the warning sign that said: 40+ mph WINDS ahead.

A few hours later, Shonni's dear husband phoned to ask where we were (what route we were on), and to warn us that a storm was headed through Colorado with SNOW expected at their place tonight. (Oh ... and we are supposed to CAMP at their place? Yikes!)

Just south of Denver, the SNOW arrived, blowing hard as we got off the freeway, to head up into the mountains towards their house.

So, what happened to SUMMER??? Since it was still summer when we left WA ... and since we are headed to TX where it is supposed to still be "summer-like weather" ... we did not pack winter clothes. We did not pack any coats.

I arrived at Shonni's house wearing a TANK TOP (with sweatshirt thrown over) and barefeet in Birkenstocks. It was FREEZING outside (seriously, freezing!)

Thankfully, Shonni and dear husband and 10 children made room for 8 more in their house. (I even get a bed to sleep in.) Whew! The tent trailer would be a bit cold tonight. THANKS SHONNI!!!

We had a GREAT evening with our new friends. And, we are looking forward to a FUN day tomorrow.

Takin' Learnin' On The Road

We had our first official day of homeschooling today. For those of you that live in other parts of the country, many Wa. State public schools do not start until after Labor Day, and many Wa. State homeschoolers do not start until later in September. While June is usually quite rainy in Western Wa., September can be a beautiful month. So, homeschoolers often like to enjoy some peaceful playdays in September, after the public schools kids head back to the classroom, and before the days turn grey. (We didn't have the peaceful playdays; but we had a lot of work days around the house to put it on the market.)

Anyway, we started our homeschooling in the van this afternoon.

Rachel & Elijah sat in the back bench, reading and working on math workbooks.

Carissa sat across the middle bench (with her leg up, as she recuperates from knee surgery), helping the little ones behind her, and listening to Elijah read aloud out of his new reading books.

Josiah, Hosanna, and Sarah sat in the front bench, working on math workbooks, reading history resource books, and reading literature books. Josiah, at one point, was reading an Usborne books about world cultures. When he came to the page about Ghana, he had quite the discussion with Sarah about the type of house she lived in in the village, etc... It was so awesome to hear him asking questions, and telling her about the book he was reading.

Ben was up front, reading his new history text: Joy Hakim's "The Story of US." (?)

What a joy! The opportunity to travel the country, while "doin' school". Along with history, literature, and math ... the kids were learning about geography and map reading.

Adopted Children and Their Questions & Answers

Just a couple of quick questions for those of you that have internationally adopted children:


Do your children have a hard time making decisions?


At AM/PM for lunch ...

Mama, "Rachel, would you like a hot dog or corn dog?"

Rachel (with a blank stare), "I do not know."

(Sarah arrives, not having heard the previous conversation.)

Mama, "Sarah, would you like a hot dog or a corn dog?"

Sarah (with a blank stare), "I do not know."


Now, both girls have eaten many hot dogs and corn dogs. They know what they taste like. But, yesterday, neither of them could tell me which they would prefer. They had absolutely no idea which they might like to eat for lunch. I handed them each a corn dog, and went on to the other children (who quickly told me what they wanted).

BTW ... this is a "budget trip", not a "health food trip". So, AM/PM hot dogs and corn dogs are a nice cheap lunch.


Do your children ask questions where the answer is very obvious? And, if you ask the question back to them they quickly can tell you the answer?


After arriving at a VERY LARGE hotel last night ...

Sarah, "Mom, is this hotel bigger than the Guest House in Ghana?"

Mom, "Well, Sarah ... let's look at it? Do you think it is bigger?"

Sarah, "Yes."


This type of conversation takes place quite often. It's as if they are asking a question, when they really might be meaning to make a statement. Maybe they are so unsure of themselves, that they ask questions rather than making statements. But, in many ways they don't seem unsure of themselves.

So, I'm just curious if any of you have encountered these types of situations also. Would love to hear your thoughts, and what you might have done to encourage deeper thinking before answering questions and/or asking questions.

Fun Day!

I was too tired to post last night, so will just take a quick minute this morning before we Hit The Road again.

A couple of days ago, a dear friend BLESSED us with a significant financial gift. While I knew that we were to take this trip (for multiple reasons), I was a bit concerned about the financial side of things. While we will still make it a budget-friendly road trip, the gift will definitely allow a few special things.

We were planning to spend last night with a precious bloggy friend and family. However, they were hit with the swine flu a week ago. While they were feeling better on Friday, I just didn't want to risk it.

We had to revise our plans. Since we had a very long day of driving yesterday (nearly 600 miles) ... and we have another 500+ mile day today ... and we had a very long, hard week ... I really wasn't looking forward to setting up and taking down a campsite in the middle of two very long days.

With the gift, then, I decided to TREAT the children (and Mama) to a special night at a hotel. I popped online on Friday night and found a GREAT deal at a really neat hotel.

Rather than camping at a K.O.A. last night (under ominous rain clouds) ... we stayed at a hotel with Indoor Water Slides.

Rather than eating Mac & Cheese at the campground ... we had pizza delivered by Papa John's Pizza.

Rather than eating Cold Cereal for breakast ... we get a DELUXE (and FREE) breakfast here at the hotel.

So, we had a few FIRSTS ...

Sarah & Rachel's FIRST time at a hotel.

Sarah & Rachel's FIRST time at a water slide.

Sarah, Josiah, Rachel, & Elijah's FIRST time to have pizza DELIVERED.

Time to head downstairs for breakfast, before heading out for another day on the road.

Tonight, we get to camp at a K.O.A. in Wyoming ... and I am looking forward to camping. Praying, however, that it doesn't rain, as we had rain almost all day yesterday (across WA and ID).

We had a GREAT day of driving yesterday. Thanks for your prayers!!!

What a Crazy Week!

I'm glad you all enjoyed the Family Pictures this week; since I didn't have time to write any new posts.

Crazy, busy week!!!

But ... I've checked everything off my lists;

and I am ready to ...

Hit The Road! Yippee!

What did we do this week?!

... 2 surgeon appts. for Carissa

... 2 physical therapy appts. for Carissa

... 5 kids caught up on immunizations

(since we are losing our insurance

at the end of the month)

... wisdom teeth extraction

surgery for Jeremiah

(yea for insurance this month)

... paint the exterior of the house

(as strongly suggested by the realtor)

... paint the kitchen cupboards

... clean, clean, clean

(house goes on the market on Monday)

... shampoo all carpets

(which is a LOT in a 3400 sq. ft. house)

... deliver Jacob to a friend,

who then delivered him

to an out-of-town friend,

for a month-long visit

... wash ALL kids laundry

... finalize itinerary and details with

all friends and family

... pack the trailer

... pack the van

... pay bills

(what will be due in the next month?)

Check! Check! Check!

All lists checked-off.

Off to bed in a little bit.

Up at 7:00.

On the road by 8:00.

(quick stop for a 24 oz. Iced Mocha)

Then ... Montana here we came.

Tomorrow, we will cruise all the way across Washington ... across the top of Idaho ... and into Montana (for a total of 567 miles). The following day, we will continue on (473 miles) to Wyoming (to camp at a K.O.A.). And, on Monday we will get to meet our first Bloggy Friends for this trip ... in Colorado. Can't wait!!!

I should have internet every night, so I'll keep y'all posted as we travel. (Did you notice ... "Y'all" ? I'm practicing for my 2 weeks in Texas and Louisiana.)

Ugh ... I posted this at 11:30, and really did have all intentions of going to bed before midnight. But ... I had forgotten 1 Major Task that HAD to be completed before we left. So, it's now 1:30 and we HAVE to be on the road by 8:00. Please pray for me today ... that I would have MUCH ENERGY ... PEACE ... PATIENCE ... and JOY today.

A Couple More Pics

Family Pictures

Vicky just commented .... and pointed out that you can click on each picture, and it will be enlarged on your screen. You really should check out the facial expressions in the pyramid picture. Enjoy!